Minimum resolvable contrast

Imagine you have a picture of a black cat and a white dog, and you want to be able to see both animals clearly. However, the picture is not high quality, and it is difficult to see the black cat clearly against the dark background.

This is where minimum resolvable contrast (MRC) comes in. MRC refers to the smallest difference in lightness or darkness, or contrast, that our eyes can detect in an image. In other words, MRC is the ability of our eyes to distinguish between two objects with different levels of contrast.

To explain this like you are five, think about trying to see a small bug on a tree bark. If the bug is a similar color to the bark, it can be difficult to see it because there is not enough contrast between the two. However, if the bug is a bright red color, it will stand out against the brown bark, and it will be easier to see.

Similarly, in an image, if there is not enough difference in contrast between two objects, such as the black cat and dark background, it can be difficult to distinguish between them. To increase the MRC, you would need to increase the contrast between the two.

This is important in many fields such as photography, medicine, and engineering, where clear and accurate images are necessary. MRC determines the ability to detect and identify objects in an image, and it is an important factor in determining the quality of an image.